A Hazard to Myself
by Baine
Summary: Kino Makoto's life begins spiraling out of control as her lover leaves her for the unknown and she makes her way to Juuban, where she will find herself becoming a superhero whose mission is to destroy the only man she's ever loved...


A Hazard to Myself

Chapter 1

By Baine

Email: lady_baine (at) yahoo (dot) com

Written: Autumn 2007 for the www (.) dotmoon (. com) forum challenge!

Posted: July 6, 2009

So I finally got around to posting this. I hope you all like it! Sorry I haven't posted anything in so long. I'm hoping to get new chapters of both _As We Stumble Along_ and _Beauty in the Breakdown_ by the end of the summer if they can be edited in time!

**IMPORTANT NOTE:**This takes place shortly before Makoto first moves to Juuban and appears in the series.

_*—(number) implies that there is a Japanese cultural note regarding the topic at the end of the story._

**_.-"-._ _.-"-._ _.-"-._**

**.-" "-.-" "-.-" "-.**

A bomb had been detonated in the middle of the room. Pants dangled from the ceiling fan, a lacy bra was flung across the mirror, and a lone sneaker lay wedged behind a pillow. Kino Makoto glanced around her ravaged bedroom as she pondered where she'd last seen her hairbrush. Deciding to ignore its existence for the time being, she grabbed a balled-up pair of socks from beneath her bed and pulled them up over her toes, hiding her gargantuan feet from view. She reached for the uniform that hung haphazardly from its hanger and threw it on, quickly buttoning the front of the white blouse and smoothing down her sepia-hued skirt. Finally locating her brush when she picked up her schoolbag, she ran it through her chestnut hair then reached for a pink hair tie and bound it atop her head, causing her curly locks to fall and bounce against her shoulders. Grimacing at her reflection on her way out the door, she grabbed a _sake onigiri_ from the fridge and hurried to school.***--1**

Glancing at her watch, she swore under her breath. She was going to be so late. The main road was a ghost of itself; everyone was at work by now. Turning the corner, she skidded to a stop in front of the school entrance. Swallowing nervously, she eyed the glowering principal and grimaced. She had been hoping _not _to get another detention.

Filling her lungs with much-needed air, she painted on a smile. "Kyoto-sensei, _ohayô-gozaimasu._"***--2**

"You're late _again_, Miss Kino. Do you have an explanation?"

"I stayed up late last night mak—"

"I really don't care to hear about your nocturnal activities, young lady. You're much too young for that type of thing."

She gaped at him, surprised. "I wasn't—"

"I don't care. The only thing I care about is the fact that you'll be attending detention for the rest of the week."

"I have after-school tutoring with Takada-sensei all week, sir."

The principal glared at her, eyebrows raised skeptically. Running a hand through his balding hair, he crisply stated, "Then I'll talk to him about supervising you and you can get in an extra hour of tutoring on top of whatever timeframe the two of you previously worked out."

She winced at the prospect, but meekly bowed and agreed. So much for trying out any new recipes this week. Her expression brightened as she realized that she would now be alone with Takada-sensei for not one but _two_ hours each afternoon. That right there made detention a worthwhile experience. A soft sigh escaped her lips before she could prevent it, but she quickly plastered a depressed look across her face. The principal glanced back at her and nodded with satisfaction, assuming she was regretting her actions. It would never do to have him suspect what she was _really_ thinking.

Entering her classroom, she quietly slipped into her chair in the last row and smiled sheepishly at her homeroom teacher. He frowned with disapproval and turned back to the board, continuing his lecture about the importance of good study habits.***--3**

Propping her chin with the palm of her hand, Makoto leaned against her arm and stared dreamily at her teacher. Takada-sensei was sculpted like a Greek God. He always pulled his long, mahogany hair back into a ponytail to maintain a more professional look during school hours. Right now, it was swaying enticingly between his shoulder blades. She longed to free his mane from its binding and run her hands through its silky texture.

He turned to face the class again and she used the opportunity to admire his perfectly chiseled face. He had an aristocratic nose that was neither too big nor too small. It was dotted with light freckles that disappeared as they spread to his cheeks. His eyes were so blue, she sometimes felt as though she were staring into an ocean, about to drown. When they were aimed her way, she always felt the urge to melt. Best of all were his lips. Full and firm, they screamed of sensuality and begged her to caress them with her own.

Her eyes wandered to his chest. He was wearing a slate-blue button-down shirt. He had left the top two buttons undone, allowing a small patch of chest hair to peek through. He loosened his navy tie, causing it to slip further down his torso. She followed its path, eyes roving over his flat stomach. She blushed and glanced away as his lower torso came into view, but couldn't help sneaking a peek at his broad shoulders and long fingers in the process. The man oozed with masculinity. Was it any surprise she was failing astronomy and had to stay after to get tutored? He was too distracting. Thankfully, homeroom didn't count for a grade. If it did, he'd be even angrier than he was at the thought that she was currently flunking _one_ of his classes.

Her eyes glazed over as she allowed his husky voice to flow through her, causing her to relax as her eyes became hooded with satisfaction. She wouldn't be able to recite a word he said if asked later, but she could explain the timber of his voice in great detail.

Listening to his rumbling laugh as he exchanged quips with one of her classmates, Makoto blissfully closed her eyes. Was there anything better than this? She shivered in anticipation of the afternoon to come and doodled in the margins of her notebook, lining it with ballpoint hearts.

**_.-"-._ _.-"-._ _.-"-._**

**.-" "-.-" "-.-" "-.**

The day seemed to drag by. Every tick of the clock felt like an eternity to Makoto. Finally, it was 4:20 p.m. and she was free. Going through her desk and pulling out the books she needed in order to do the day's homework, she quickly shoved them into her messenger bag and stood, nearly whacking the girl behind her in the process. Mumbling an apology, she hurried from the room before her classmate could respond. Because everyone at school was afraid of her, she didn't have any friends to say good-bye to, so she was able to go downstairs to the small cram room without delay.

Sinking into a chair and flopping her astrology text onto a worn-out desk, she pulled out her notebook and was already hard at work when Takada-sensei entered the room. Looking up as he walked in and closed the door, she smiled and quickly averted her eyes.

"You're actually working?" he asked, eyes wide with disbelief as he approached her desk.

"Mm-hmm," she murmured, erasing part of the star map she'd been labeling and starting over again.

Pulling another chair toward her, Takada-sensei sat backwards and peered upside-down at her chart. "Hydra is a bit further to the left."

"Ah, thanks." Makoto grabbed her eraser once more, pink tongue slipping out of the corner of her mouth as her forehead furrowed in concentration.

"Are you working this hard so I won't scold you about the double-detention?"

"No," she responded, refusing to look at him as his hand suddenly covered her own.

"Makoto..."

"Yes?"

"Why won't you look at me?"

"I'm working."

"So? That's never stopped you before." He smirked down at her and took her half-finished star chart to look over. "Now, want to tell me the truth?" Listening to her incohesive mumble, he quirked an eyebrow and leaned closer, half-hanging over her desk. "What was that?"

Blushing as she stared down at the swirled-pattern in the wood of her desk, she murmured, "You know very well that I'll never get any work done if I look at you."

Chuckling, he slipped her paper back to her. "You're on the right track. I'm impressed with your diligence today."

Not realizing he'd intended for the comment to irk her, she jerked her head up, eyes aglow with emerald flames of fire. "You know very well I'm not that bad in Astrology, Nephrite. If I didn't have the excuse of being a horrible student, we'd never be able to meet like this."

Pulling back to run his fingers through his wavy hair, he retorted, "I still don't agree with that decision of yours."

Makoto shrugged her shoulders. "I've gotten over it; so should you."

"Just for that, you're going to work for an hour and a half to day."

"What?" She stared at him in chagrin. "That's not fair. If I had detention for an hour, we'd have thirty minutes to ourselves. We should get an hour to play today!"

"Why should I reward you for being late? I'm still your teacher and this is still detention.

Pouting petulantly, she proclaimed, "You're no fun."

"That's not what you said the other day."

The green-eyed beauty blushed and glanced back down at her desk.

"Actually, I wanted to talk to you about something important today, so I'm glad we have the extra time."

"What's up?" Her eyes filled with alarm as she looked up at him once more. "Is something wrong?"

"Depends on your definition of 'wrong.'" He tipped back in his chair, eyes dark as the night sky as they filled with turbulent thoughts.

"What's going on, Neph?" Makoto draped her hands around her shoulders, suddenly desperate for the extra warmth. It seemed as though an impenetrable coldness had suddenly entered the room with them, sucking away all the light.

"I don't think we're going to be able to do this much longer."

"What are you talking about, silly?" Holding her smile in place for fear it would suddenly break, she added, "Of course we won't. Graduation isn't too far from now and then you won't be my teacher anymore."

"That isn't what I mean and you know it."

Smile faltering as she struggled for composure, she quickly shook her head. "I don't understand, Neph, what's going on?"

Pulling his hands behind his head, he raised his head to the ceiling. "I don't know. There's something in the air. The winds are changing. When I look to the stars for help, they remain silent. Something's coming."

"Like what?"

"I'm not really sure. I just feel it isn't safe anymore. Something's about to happen and I don't think it'll be good."

"Well, it surely isn't anything we can't handle together. I mean, if it's because our relationship's about to be discovered, well, I don't really want to go to high school anyway. I'm fine with being a stay-at-home housewife. You know that. It won't damage me, promise."

"That isn't it at all, Makoto. I feel that whatever's coming…it's something beyond humanity. Somehow, I'm involved and if you're near me when everything comes together, you'll be caught in the explosion." He reached out and grabbed her hands. "I don't want you anywhere near me when everything blows up, so I'm going to leave before that can happen."

"You're leaving because of something that _might_ happen? What about me? You're the only thing tying me to this town. I hate it here. Take me with you. I don't care what happens to me!"

"I can't." His voice was low and hoarse. "Please, Makoto, understand—"

"—That you're willingly deserting me for a _feeling_? I can't—I _won't_, no. I don't understand at all."

He bowed his head, eyes filled with misery, and could only whisper, "I'm sorry."

"Nephrite—"

"You should go now. I'm letting you out of detention early tonight."

"But—"

"Go home, Makoto. Do your homework—and don't make any mistakes. Starting tomorrow, you'll have a new Astrology teacher. I don't want you flunking and having detention with him every day." Clenching his fists until his knuckles turned white, he stood and strode from the room, leaving a devastated girl staring at his empty chair with wide eyes.

Outside, a streak of lightning hit a nearby tree and thunder rumbled in the distance. Rain began to pummel angrily against the dirty windowpane of the small classroom.

Without him, she was nothing. She couldn't stay here when every turn brought her memories of _him_. What lay ahead now?

**_.-"-._ _.-"-._ _.-"-._**

**.-" "-.-" "-.-" "-.**

**Cultural Note #1:** A _sake onigiri_ is a riceball with salmon in it. _Sake_=Salmon (yes, it's also alcohol, but that's another story...) and _Onigiri_=riceball. This is my favorite type of _onigiri_!

**Cultural Note #2:** _Ohayô-gozaimasu _is a (formal) way to say "Good morning" in Japan. You'll hear people saying it to one another all the time, even strangers. It's a very standard greeting. Also in Japan, a person's name tends to go before the greeting, so in this case, Kyoto-sensei (_Kyoto_ means "Vice Principal." Many times, titles are used in lieu of a person's name.) comes before "good morning." So you would greet your Vice Principal in Japan by saying "Vice Principal (Smith), good morning!" instead of "Good morning, Vice Principal (Smith)--to throw in a generic last name!"

**Cultural Note #3:** Japanese homerooms are a little different from Western homerooms. For one thing, students take more of a part in it and often plan class activities. The homeroom class is also the class that will stick together all day (teachers will rotate rooms while the kids remain in one room, their "homeroom.") Homeroom can even be a full period, so the homeroom teacher (who is also a subject teacher that the kids will have again later on) can teach various things during this time period, do surveys for the school, etc. Japanese homerooms are very interesting; I'm sure there are websites that detail them more than I do here if you want to learn more!

**Author's Note:** The reason it took me so long to post this piece is due to the fact that I was debating whether or not to A) Co-write it with someone who was interested for a while since it's my first Mako/Neph fic and I'm nervous about it, and B) I was pretty sure I wanted this to be a multi-chapter fic, but not positive. My ultimate goal is for this story to reveal the backstory of how Mako-chan becomes Sailor Jupiter and blend her past into the canon we all know and love today. Wish me luck (and tell me what you think!)

Like it? Hate it? I'm the one to talk to! Hit the little review button or e-mail lady_baine (at) yahoo (dot) com today!

«•´`•.(*•.¸(`•.¸ ¸.•´)¸.•*).•´`•»

«•´¨*•.¸¸. *Baine*.¸¸.•*¨`•»

«•´`•.(¸.•´(¸.•* *•.¸)`•.¸).•´`•»


End file.
